Facebook videos urging users to ‘think critically’ won’t be enough to tackle rising misinformation, as Reset Australia calls on the platforms to introduce live lists which would act as an early warning system to alert the public to electoral mis- and disinformation.
The social media platform said it will publish videos on Facebook and Instagram that encourage users to improve their media literacy and be more critical of information that is presented to them.
Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran, Reset Australia’s director of tech policy, said the videos put the onus on individual users to tackle misinformation online, rather than tackling the systemic problem that social media’s own algorithmic amplification of misinformation.
“Put simply, social media companies promote, amplify and profit from sensational and extreme content,” said Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran.
“Algorithms are designed to amplify content that elicits strongest reactions from us because that is what keeps us glued to our phones and scrolling through platforms so that more value can be extracted from us.”
Last week Reset Australia organised a briefing for MPs from Facebook whistle blower Frances Haugen, in which she warned politicians to stop trusting Facebook. Instead, she said, Australian policymakers should demand greater transparency about what users are seeing and sharing, in line with Reset Australia’s own Live List policy.
Dhakshayini Sooriyakumaran said the era of self-regulation was over for social media.
“If we are serious about protecting our democracy and social cohesion from misinformation, disinformation, extremism and polarisation then we urgently need to move away from the current self-regulation model, which allows Big Tech to write their own rules, with no enforcement or penalties for acting against the public interest.
“Ultimately, we need the transparency of a live list so we can begin to understand what content is being amplified and if certain groups are being targeted – the earlier we can spot misinformation the better chance we have of intervening with accurate information before it takes hold.”
